BEV Sales in Europe Up 29% Year-on-Year in 2022

Battery-electric vehicles continued to make inroads in the European market in 2022, according to ACEA, the European automakers group.

Sales grew to nearly 1.6 million units, up 29% over the previous year’s total, and accounted for 13.9% of new-car demand in the market. Compared with seven years ago, sales were up sevenfold.

ACEA’s data includes all European Union and European Free Trade Assn. countries plus the U.K.

Last year’s BEV sales leader was Germany (471,394), followed by France (267,203) and the U.K. (203,122). Battery-electrics accounted for 17.8% of new-car sales in Germany, 16.6% in the U.K. and 13.3% in France.

Sweden had the largest share of BEV sales at 79.3%. Slovakia and Czech Republic were the lowest at 1.8% and 2.0%, respectively.

Roland Irye, a market analyst at EV Volumes, reports sales would have been higher had it not been for weak overall demand in the market resulting from “persistent component shortages exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.”

Meanwhile, plug-in hybrids and hybrids showed mixed results – 1.0 million units and 2.3 million units, respectively. Hybrids, including both full and mild hybrids, rose 8.9%. PHEVs fell 2.8%.

Combined sales of electrified cars, from BEVs to mild hybrids, totaled 5.2 million units, or 44% of 11.3 million units sold during the year. Total sales fell for the third consecutive year from 2019 levels due to the semiconductor shortage.

Germany was the volume leader in PHEV and hybrid sales, at 362,093 and 465,228 units, followed by the U.K. and Italy.

European sales of gasoline and diesel cars totaled 4,144,763 units and 1,639,766 units, respectively, in 2022, for a combined share of 51.2% of demand, down from 86% (13.9 million units) in 2018.

ACEA has not forecast electrified-vehicle sales for 2023.